How To Focus On The Present Moment To Build Iron Self-Discipline
Want to understand how to focus on the present moment? Then you’re in the right place.
I need to focus on knowing and understanding the reality about me. When I see a picture of an eagle, I instantly think of strength. When I need to center on a particular topic or situation, I need to set my mind completely on those circumstances.
I also need to eliminate any distractions that come into my mind so I can create discipline and become stronger in my self-control techniques.
I noticed throughout my years that it takes plenty of strength for me to focus on the subject at hand and not to try to resolve other things at the same time.
When taking a picture with a camera, I’m going to focus on the subject in the frame of the camera lens. While I’m focusing on my subject, I’m not looking behind me or anywhere else.
I noticed that if I assumed about looking behind me or beside me for my next picture, I would be taking the quality away from the picture that was right in front of me.
This is an idea that I pay very close attention to because I could be easily distracted from focusing on a situation or attempting to solve a problem. When distraction starts to invade my thoughts, I begin to consider numerous things that can push me away from the problem at hand.
Once I’m distracted, I become unfocused and then I’m not concentrating on my present moment thinking. I will explain my thoughts about focusing and living in the present moment.
Maintaining our focus is a challenge, and it takes plenty of strength and discipline.
How To Focus On The Present Moment
ARE YOU FOCUSING WITH DISCIPLINE?
When I believe of the word focus, I believe of the words concentration, emphasis, and the center of attention.
Earlier I gave an example of taking a picture with a camera and centering on the object or the person and focusing our attention to produce a desired result. I continuously see photographs of individuals and objects, and they’re fairly nice photos.
However, I recently saw photographs by a professional photographer, and that I was amazed by the quality and the different traits of the pictures.
The difference between searching for a solution of a problem and getting repeatedly distracted and seeking out a solution with major concentration and intensity enables me to stay in the present moment thinking.
This empowers our thinking and offers us more discipline to research our thoughts to pull together all our options. By staying in my present moment thinking allows me to focus on all my future possibilities, and this will open up new opportunities for me.
When I look up the word discipline, I believe of the words self-restraint, sternness, and strength of mind. These are powerful words for discipline and when I combine them with the meanings of the word focus, I see a connection between seeing the center of something with much concentration.
This concentration has the strength and the intensity to become stern enough to control your thinking to enhance your present moment living.
The first step in improving your present moment living is to become aware of the situation that you’re currently involved in and to focus on the solutions and avoiding the pitfalls of distraction.
I developed key words to remind me of the word focus to keep my mind centered on what I’m thinking about and to evade any possible interruptions and interferences. I took the word f-o-c-u-s, and that I broke it down this way:
- F= Fearlessness
- O= Observance
- C= Connection
- U= Unyielding
- S= Separation
Let me break these focus steps down a little further:
Fearlessness:
When situations come up unexpectedly that tend to make me distracted and unfocussed, the very first thing that tries to grab my emotions is fear. That is why it’s so imperative that I stay within myself to fight that fear head on.
I in fact talk to myself so I can hear myself say the words out loud, and this encourages me to stay strong and focused so I can overcome the present problem.
Observance:
When I read a letter that seems to indicate that an unforeseen problem is arising, my emotions start to flare. When I finish with the letter, I read it again a few more times to understand every aspect of the situation.
I do this because, after the first reading, my emotions get so overwhelmed with tension and stress, and that I need to perceive and pick out the problem areas to discern and understand what I need to do to approach the situation.
Connection:
I received a letter from a bank a year ago, and it involved an incident about my account. When I continued to read this letter, I started to realize the seriousness of the situation, and that I took my observance to another level by connecting each area of concern and making written notes of the action steps I needed to select to resolve this situation.
Unyielding:
If you end up wavering and thinking about the ramifications of the problem, you must stay in control.
This has happened to me repeatedly, and that’s the reason I emphasize not to surrender to the problem because you’ll be allowing the problem to strip down your courage and tenacity to reach a decision to rectify this hurdle.
Separation:
By sorting out and organizing information about the letter from the bank, I was now able take action to resolve this potential problem.
I know that I strive towards living my life with peace, and there are specific situations that take place that try to take away my tranquility and serenity. Did you ever find yourself content and contented with yourself, and all at once a situation turns up and you feel that you’re in a battle with yourself?
I found myself in similar situations, and confusion set in because, while I was trying to calm myself to my present moment living, my mind was dwelling on the difficulties and complications of these unforeseen situations.
The way to get your eyes off of the problem is to shift away from it without being afraid of the outcome that you may see at that time as a negative result. Living in the present moment in fear of the situation is not a great way to tackle a problem.
This is where fearlessness comes into play, and being observant and living in that moment with compassion is demonstrating self-control. By not showing fear in this situation, we will become unyielding and sturdy to conquer this problem with firmness.
When a problem comes up, I used to see it as a terrible thing, and my mind would dwell on the negative. Then, unfortunately, the situation would grow worse. The reason that the problem was growing worse was because I was feeding the problem.
By securitizing the situation, I was in fact exploring the situation to enable me to make inquiries and to look carefully at all options.
The more we focus on the problem, the problem expands and may get us more confused and frustrated.
This is why I tell myself to shift without fear and really observe the problem at hand. This will enable you to have more self-control and you’ll be in a peaceful state of mind to reconcile the situation at hand.
ARE YOU LIVING IN THE PRESENT MOMENT?
What I mean by present moment living is living your life peacefully in your present. This means you aren’t living in the past or living for the future. You are simply living in the now at this present time.
It is nice when we have goals and objectives to reach for our future endeavors, but we cannot get ahead of ourselves by making decisions from our past experiences.
By dwelling on the negative aspects of the situation, I took myself away from the present moment to the past and the future results at the same time. And when this happens, the solutions seem to get further away, and that I found myself stuck and trapped and mystified.
When I find myself in a certain situation that may seem bleak and dismal, I instantly shift and take control.
I ask myself, “Where are you in this present moment?” I discovered when I asked this question, any fears or anxieties would seem to reduce. Instead of feeling that I was beneath a problem, I felt as if I was on top of a solution.
Stay in the present moment and don’t let anything get you stuck or wedged into thinking there isn’t a solution to this hindrance. I live in the present moment, and when things started to show up as a problem, I focused all my thinking on staying in the present moment.
My attention and emphasis became branded and exemplified with present moment thoughts. I was staying in the P-R-E-S-E-N-T, and that I made sure that my mind wouldn’t wander to anything negative and discouraging.
A tool that I use for the word present is the following:
- P= Produce
- R= Reconcile
- E= Eliminate
- S= Shift
- E= Evaluate
- N- Navigate
- T= Target
I will break down these important tools:
Produce:
Produce positive results when reading or hearing information that sounds uncomfortable and upsetting. I know this is a challenge, but it enables me to focus on getting to the bottom of problem.
Face this potential problem head on to avoid confusion, because uncertainty will penetrate and make matters worse. Stay in control and produce confidence and trust yourself (1).
Reconcile:
Bring together your emotions to a peaceful state of mind by calming yourself and settling your emotions.
I use the serenity prayer to allow myself to remain tranquil and composed by accepting what I cannot change, asking for courage of what I can change and seeking the wisdom to know the difference between what I can and can’t change.
I then take the control on my side, and it’s established in my mind that this problem will be resolved.
Eliminate:
Remove any negative assumptions that may enter your mind involving this situation. I have experienced that when I get rid of hectic and confusing thoughts, I find myself moving away from the problem. This enables me to move towards a solution with more poise and assurance.
Shift:
By eliminating negative assumptions, I find that I can continue to shift my thoughts and my total concentration in order to stretch myself to discover the desired results that are required to settle the predicament.
When I find that these negative thoughts are coming to me at a fast pace, I continuously say aloud, “Shift and move forward.”
Evaluate:
When I shift and move forward, I can then evaluate and appraise the situation more clearly. I in fact feel more peaceful because I feel in charge of my emotions. This is where I see some options to solving this dilemma with more harmony.
Navigate:
Now I find myself in a position to plot a course and to zero in on finding the proper resolution. There are times that I read the letter again to define all the problem areas, or I listen to the person who is stating the situation and that I ask questions to clarify any obscurities and doubts that may have occurred.
Target:
When I aim and focus on my intention, it becomes powerful and that I feel competent to make a decision. When I return and read the upsetting letter or hear the distressing news, it doesn’t disturb me any longer.
ARE YOU FOCUSING ON THE PRESENT MOMENT?
It is so powerful and impressive to turn an upsetting situation into an encouraging challenge. Shifting allows me to examine my emotions by asking myself, “Where am I in this present moment?”
And after asking this question several times, consider what you are thinking about and tackle the situation with the following tools:
- F= Fearlessness
- O= Observance
- C= Connection
- U= Unyielding
- S= Separation
And continue confronting and attacking the situation to comprehend the potential problems more clearly by executing the following tools:
- P= Produce
- R= Reconcile
- E= Eliminate
- S= Shift
- E= Evaluate
- N- Navigate
- T= Target
I have discovered that if I allow emotions to control me, then I lose any power to resolve any problem. That is why I feel so revitalized when I become aware that I’m producing, reconciling, eliminating, shifting, evaluating, navigating, and targeting towards resolving a difficulty.
It is when I apply these tools that I feel empowered as I regain my self-control. Focusing on the present moment ensures that I’m now in charge of my emotions, and those emotions aren’t in charge of me any longer.
I’m well aware there are problems and issues that are more devastating than others. All problems and tribulations are annoying and troublesome; no matter the adversities, but we must be capable to shift away from the negative details and towards taking control of our emotions (2).
I mentioned the tools focusing and staying in the present. Another key word that I stay focused on is the word moment. One of the definitions of moment is, “A time of excellence.” It is the quality of being excellent, and it’s also defined as a virtue.
A virtue is strength or courage and a capacity to act with strength. I feel full of energy when I stay in the present moment when things around me seem to get gloomy and dismal.
It was not long ago that I made a decision to get my first smart phone with all those fancy pushbutton features. I’m going to become sixty eight years old in less than two months and these new devices are a challenge to me. I was experiencing problems with getting pictures in a text form from others.
And then I discovered that I wasn’t able to send any pictures through my phone to others. I called the phone company a few times, and they were very helpful in researching this problem.
But every time I spent at least an hour or more at each inquiry, and they instructed me to mark certain items and to unmark other items, but the problem was not resolved.
I was getting discouraged and aggravated, and that I was getting stressed and thinking about cancelling and signing up with another cellphone company.
It was at this moment I shifted and put my tools into action, and that I discovered there are various options to resolve this issue. But some of those options would be costly because my phone was still under a contract.
Before the issue continued, I said to myself, “Where am I in this present moment?” I then realized I didn’t must live with this problem because I did have options, and it was my choice to decide which option I needed to use.
I wrote out a list of options that I could apply to this task, but something jumped out at me. I felt at that moment I needed to call the phone company again.
I was firm on the phone, and that I conducted myself with respect but I also sincerely conveyed that it was difficult for me to accept that this technical problem couldn’t be resolved.
I was instructed to mark numerous items and unmark others for over two hours with no avail. I was then transferred to technical support for an additional hour, and after I was instructed to mark and unmark certain items, the feature that was the issue now worked.
I used this example to point out that a difficulty can be confusing and distracting. But once I shifted and focused, I stayed in the present moment by becoming aware of where I was and asking myself, “Where am I in this present moment?” You can even ask yourself, “Who am I being in this present moment?”
Problems and upsetting issues can get us directed to making regretful choices because they have a tendency to rule us with perplexing emotions.
This is why it’s so important to remain focused and alter directions to deal with those feelings with boldness, self-assurance and courage.
Taking control of my emotions by focusing on my present moment thinking provided freedom from strife. Using the tools for focusing on present moment living can help to open doors of opportunities and possibilities.
I want to thank you for taking the time to read my article about how to focus on the present moment. I sincerely hope its contents have been a good help to you.
